rockin'robin
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2007
- Messages
- 24,425
- Reaction score
- 551
For the last month or two, conservative legislatures in many states have been passing laws that require voters to present photo identification before they can vote. These laws were demonized by the left, including Rev. Al Sharpton, saying on MSNBC that "this is the first time in 47 years we have seen such a frontal attack on the voting rights act." While there have been many studies and reports on the true impact of voter fraud, large and unsubstantiated claims from advocates have attracted more attention. New Mexico Secretary of State Diana Duran claimed there were 64,000 cases of possible voter fraud, 10 percent of the number of people who voted in New Mexico.
While it may seem that the GOP's motives to push so hard for these laws is the political advantage, the fact is the majority of Americans feel like this legislation is sensible, so the motives of the legislation are irrelevant to them. It doesn't really seem believable that the GOP would be willing to risk the potential backlash of this legislation just to prevent voter fraud. The Brennan Center for Justice case studies show voter fraud is usually exaggerated and incorrectly reported because of clerical errors. Real confirmed or investigated cases of people committing any type of voter fraud are so minuscule that it makes it hard to believe there is no ulterior motive.
The GOP is an incredibly shrewd party, and I think they know that this fit perfectly into the fabricated belief that conservatives are constantly victimized, because of the many claims that it is an attempt to disenfranchise minority voters. It also reverberates with the more extreme members of the party who believe Obama and the big government machine, funded by George Soros, is going to cheat the election and establish some type of Orwellian police state.
A poll released by Fox News claimed that 70 percent of people were in favor of voter I.D. measures, and a majority believed that opposition to such measures is an attempt to increase ineligible voter participation. It is fair to assume that those numbers aren't a completely accurate representation of the country, but even if the results are inflated, it does seem like independents and moderate Democrats is a general support for I.D. requirements.
The reality is that even though the motivation for it could be perverse and opportunistic, a requirement to present ID to vote is not that burdensome or oppressive. If Democrats continue to challenge this they leave themselves very open to attacks on their commitment to preserving the integrity of democracy. Fighting a losing battle never helps anyone.
Liberals are Fighting a Losing Battle on Voter ID Laws - Yahoo! News
While it may seem that the GOP's motives to push so hard for these laws is the political advantage, the fact is the majority of Americans feel like this legislation is sensible, so the motives of the legislation are irrelevant to them. It doesn't really seem believable that the GOP would be willing to risk the potential backlash of this legislation just to prevent voter fraud. The Brennan Center for Justice case studies show voter fraud is usually exaggerated and incorrectly reported because of clerical errors. Real confirmed or investigated cases of people committing any type of voter fraud are so minuscule that it makes it hard to believe there is no ulterior motive.
The GOP is an incredibly shrewd party, and I think they know that this fit perfectly into the fabricated belief that conservatives are constantly victimized, because of the many claims that it is an attempt to disenfranchise minority voters. It also reverberates with the more extreme members of the party who believe Obama and the big government machine, funded by George Soros, is going to cheat the election and establish some type of Orwellian police state.
A poll released by Fox News claimed that 70 percent of people were in favor of voter I.D. measures, and a majority believed that opposition to such measures is an attempt to increase ineligible voter participation. It is fair to assume that those numbers aren't a completely accurate representation of the country, but even if the results are inflated, it does seem like independents and moderate Democrats is a general support for I.D. requirements.
The reality is that even though the motivation for it could be perverse and opportunistic, a requirement to present ID to vote is not that burdensome or oppressive. If Democrats continue to challenge this they leave themselves very open to attacks on their commitment to preserving the integrity of democracy. Fighting a losing battle never helps anyone.
Liberals are Fighting a Losing Battle on Voter ID Laws - Yahoo! News